


After Hours

by bringnsexsebaek



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Comedy, Crack, Cute, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Schoollife, Silly, University, uni - Freeform, universityAU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-07-15 22:32:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16072694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bringnsexsebaek/pseuds/bringnsexsebaek
Summary: Their first (awkward) meeting is in a library, where they are the only two students who hear two other students getting it on in the stacks.Their second (exhausted) meeting is in the same library, where they are the only ones there, from night until morning.From that point on, they have each other's numbers and run into each other both on planned and unplanned occasions. They talk to each other late into the night, first through text, then through call, then in person.From friends to best friends to lovers, it's a slow (probably?) development but with lots of dumb jokes and dumb moments and dumb flirting.Credit to OHSbaek (https://twitter.com/OHSbaek) for the title!!!! tysm~~





	1. awkward first encounters

Originally, Sehun had believed a library to be the place where one went to rid themselves of any distractions. 

Not anymore. Nothing could distract you more from writing out organic chemistry reactions than the sound of skin slapping against skin and someone crying out from something other than the inevitability of failing out. Oh, not to mention the periodic slamming sounds that commenced whenever books were knocked out of their rightful places and onto the floor. 

“Y’know, when I heard that guy say “fuck me” while studying, I didn't think he meant it literally.” 

Sehun glanced over at the student sharing the table with him. Up until this point, they had only exchanged pleasantries such as “is it alright if I sit here?” and “will you watch my stuff real quick?”, along with embarrassed expressions at the knowledge that two people were having sex not ten feet from where they sat. 

Now, Sehun gifted him with a barely veiled snort, the corner of his lips twitching as he shifted in his chair. 

“Do you think they realize that others can hear them? Or do you think that like. They  _ want  _ us to?”

The stranger barely let out a snort himself before it was interrupted by an obnoxiously loud groan. 

“Ohhhh  _ Kris-- _ yeah, like that, like tha-- _ OH--”  _ Sehun winced as he heard no fewer than five books collapse at once, and winced once again when one of the boys involved released a yelp. Presumably, one of such books had come into contact with him. 

The stranger across from him bit his lip and shoved his face into his textbook, back visibly shaking with the laughter that he was producing. He took a few moments to compose himself before answering Sehun. “Oh, they  _ know.” _

Sehun scrunched his nose up in disgust. “I'm just tryna pass this class; oh my fucking God--”

Another noisy whine. Both of their eyes widened, and they held each other's gazes for a solid five seconds before bursting into simultaneous laughter. 

Sehun’s cheeks were dusted the lightest of pinks, and he ducked his head while struggling to finish the problem he had been stuck on for… what? Half an hour, now? The tip of his pen had just touched his paper when the loudest moan yet rung out through the room, causing him to drop the writing utensil entirely. It was so unbelievably loud that Sehun found himself hurriedly looking around him, wondering how many others were in the same awkward situation as him and the stranger studying at his side. Unsurprisingly enough, most of them were well-equipped with headphones, and were undisturbed by something that… most certainly  _ was  _ disturbing, to most.

Unless you were into that sort of thing, of course.

Sehun most definitely wasn't. It caused him to be embarrassed, if anything, but the student at his table appeared to be amused above all else. Every time Sehun would lift his pen again, some noise would come from the bookcases, and some sort of snicker would come from the student, and Sehun would find himself giving that student an embarrassed look before being drawn into laughter with him. 

Although Sehun did have headphones, he didn't exactly want to leave the other boy to fend for himself. As awkward as it was, sharing in that strange experience with someone else was oddly satisfying. If nothing else, it would give him an insane story to share with his roommate and best friend (the same person) the next day. 

It also helped that the boy before him was both easy-going and easy on the eyes, and Sehun wasn't exactly going to waste an opportunity to interact with him. 

“Are your midterms tomorrow?” Sehun gathered up the courage to start some conversation that involved more than just swear words and complaints about what was happening. 

The student marked his place in his book by placing his pen cap there, before moving to rest his face in the palm of his hand. “Yeah. Although I don't expect to do well, honestly. Considering…” The boy jerked the thumb of his free hand towards the bookcases, much like one of the boys in the couple was likely jerking--

_ Stop.  _ Another blush. 

He wasn't wrong, though. Seconds later, he heard not one boy moaning, but two. He would say it was a refreshing change, hearing someone other than the same boy who had been whimpering loudly for who knows how long, but he facepalmed as soon as that same boy's voice lifted in volume and actually caused some other students to take out an earbud in confusion. 

Sehun slowly shifted his gaze to the boy beside him, and was surprised to see him stunned into silence rather than already engaged in laughter. 

“What. The. Fuck.” He mouthed, and Sehun was the first one to throw his head back and laugh without restraint, this time. 

“What the fuck is right.” He barely managed to speak throughout, wiping an actual tear away from his eye. 

“You think they're finally done?” 

Sehun bit his lip to halt his growing grin. “I certainly  _ hope _ so.”

One of the boys strode out from behind the bookcases, a satisfied smirk set on his lips. His blond hair--which appeared as if it had originally been set in a smooth spike--now stuck out in multiple directions. He made no move to smooth it down, and instead made eye contact with anyone that dared to stare his way. He settled back into his seat several tables away, and a minute passed before a far shorter boy came racing out at the other end of the bookcases, face still flushed from the excitement and eyes wide at having actually participated in such a thing. He avoided looking at anyone. 

He joined the taller boy, who cupped his cheek before kissing the top of his head. They shared a small smile before bending their heads back over their books, lips moving as they discussed… something. Whether it was school-related or sex-related, Sehun wouldn't know. As much as he'd like to. 

The boy at his table cleared his throat. “Well, that was certainly… something.” 

Sehun smirked down at his paper. “Even though it's finally quiet, I still don't feel like I can concentrate.”

The boy snickered, absently tapping his own pen against his lips. “Forever burned into your mind, huh?”

“Definitely.” 

Sehun was gifted with a small smile, one of those smiles where it was clear the owner didn't even realize they were smiling. The purest sort of smile. “I'm Baekhyun, by the way.” A hand was extended his way. 

Sehun gripped it tightly, but not painfully so. “Sehun.”

“Nice to meet you!” Baekhyun responded brightly, and Sehun found his own lips automatically curving into a smile, without his permission. “Nice to meet you. Even though we've been sitting here for… how long?”

“And already basically watched porn together.”

Sehun snorted a laugh in surprise. “Yeah, I'd say we're pretty close, then.”

Baekhyun was watching him, carefully, as if he were trying to answer some unasked question. His eyes shone with amusement. 

“Guess so.”

They looked at each other for a few more seconds, before the moment began to turn awkward. 

Sehun gave a small cough, pretending to scribble something relevant into his notebook. Baekhyun stared at him for a second longer before murmuring quietly to himself and finding his place in his textbook.

They worked in silence for a few minutes, before Baekhyun lifted his head, staring at Sehun until the other boy noticed the attention he was receiving. Baekhyun’s lips parted, indicating he was about to speak, but all of a sudden his gaze shifted a little up and to the left. No words came out, but his mouth remained open. 

“Sehun-ah,” 

Startled, Sehun flinched and swiveled around in his seat, shock evident in his expression. “Jongin?”

“We gotta go right now!”

Sehun glanced over at Baekhyun. Shock shifted to hesitation. “But--” 

“You can study later, nerd. This is serious!” 

Sehun cursed under his breath. Jongin didn't even sound that serious. Just annoyed, really.

“What's even going on, Jongin?” 

In answer, Jongin unzipped Sehun's backpack, making one good sweep over the table and haphazardly shoving everything into it. “I'll tell you once we get outside, okay?”

Sehun stared at him for a moment, a little taken aback by his actions, but then he nodded, rising to his feet and throwing his backpack over one shoulder. 

“It was nice meeting you...” he spoke slowly, ending his sentence in a certain tone that indicated he wished to say more but couldn't. 

“Same goes to you.” Baekhyun murmured, corners of his lips tugging down into a frown. Sehun couldn't be sure if it was due to concern or unhappiness that he was leaving.

He wished it to be the latter. Reluctance followed each of his footsteps, and he peeked over his shoulder only to catch Baekhyun staring after him.

Sehun swore again, this time loud enough for his friend to hear it. 

“What's  _ your _ problem?”

“Good luck on your midterms!” He called back to the near-stranger, who made sure to yell the same to him. This time, Baekhyun’s words were accompanied by a smile, and Sehun almost ran into Jongin. Almost considered ditching his best friend in hopes of continuing things with a potential boyfriend.

After their exchange, a librarian side-eyed Sehun, but he made a point of holding their gaze. If they had found no trouble with two students fucking against some bookcases, then a little shouting wasn't going to hurt anyone.

Then, Sehun faced ahead, ignoring the way Jongin bumped their shoulders together out of playful impatience.

“Hell _ oooooo _ ?”

“My problem? You rushed me out of there and I didn't even have a chance to get that guy's number.”

Jongin just snorted, casually ruffling Sehun’s hair before throwing an arm around his shoulders. “Yeah, like you would even do that.”

Sehun slowly turned his head, a scowl already prominent on his lips. “As a matter of fact, yeah, I would have.”

“Mhm.”

Sehun stopped in his steps. They had just exited the library, feet hitting wet stone and faces upturned to the weeping sky. 

“You said this is ‘serious’, and yet you're joking around with me?”

“Oh, right. I guess I didn't tell you. Kyungsoo called; apparently Vivi spilled her guts on the floor.”

Sehun gripped onto Jongin's arm in dismay. “Excuse me,  _ what!?” _

His friend's hands flew up into the air, and Jongin actually appeared to be remorseful at the misunderstanding. “I meant that she fucking threw up, not that she was hurt or something,  _ Jesus _ are you dense--”

Sehun released his hold. And sighed. “And that classifies as an emergency? Your boyfriend's a baby.”

“It's  _ your  _ dog!”

Sehun paused for a moment, before a sinister smile monopolized his face. “You mean your boyfriend's my dog?”

Jongin also had to take a minute, but then he was jumping on Sehun and knocking fists against him.

“You fucking piece of shit I'm gonna make  _ you  _ spill your guts and I mean  _ literally  _ spill your guts, because Ima yank them out through your stomach and--” 

Sehun bent over in laughter, causing Jongin to tip forward and almost fall onto the ground. 

A second later, Jongin voluntarily got to his feet, insults trailing off before ending completely. “Sehun, dude, I'm sorry. I thought you would be worried since it seems like your dog is sick. She's actually thrown up a couple of times. But it's not anything urgent so… go get your man.”

Sehun blew the bangs out of his face before raking his fingers down through them, attempting to fix the damage Jongin had dealt him. “Shut up.” He laughed, a shy but excited kind of laugh, and Jongin actually shot him a surprised look. 

“Did you just  _ gig--” _

“Nope! Be right back!”

Sehun ran back into the library, which probably was not an acceptable establishment to run in (not that he really cared).

As soon as he neared the table the two of them had shared together, however, he realized…

Baekhyun was gone. 


	2. hello there

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a second meeting, under similar circumstances... perhaps a different outcome?

_ Are you coming back tonight? Do I have to wait up to make sure your dumb ass is safe? _

Sehun produced the smallest of snorts, and he quickly glanced around to see if anyone had heard. The only other student in sight was someone halfway across the room, facing away from him, cotton candy hair fluffing up in several places. Every so often his head bobbed up and down or gently sloped side to side, arms mirroring the motion, so Sehun believed it safe to assume he had earbuds in.

_ Your boyfriend might like to know how interested you seem to be in my ass _

He resumed flipping through his practice exam, sighing when he found himself skipping over multiple unanswered questions. He gave a different kind of sigh--of relief, this time--as soon as he saw his phone light up again. A welcome distraction.

_ I'm serious tho. It's already 3 am _

Sehun actually smiled at that. 

_ I'm staying overnight, Jongin. dw, okay? _

His gaze swept over the table in front of him. Computer, textbook, notebook. Pencils and erasers, calculator. Snacks. Many of them. Coffee, water, charger, and headphones. He was set.

Of course, it felt unbelievably strange to be basically alone in such a big library. It seemed almost… wrong. To be there. And of course it was going to be a bit lonely. An entire night with no one to talk to. But it's not like he had never experienced that before. When your only two friends were in a relationship, there were bound to be times when they left to spend time on their own, and  _ you  _ were left to… well. Spend time on  _ your  _ own. And think about how you might be forever alone. No biggie, right?

Still, it did help him to focus better on the material at hand. And soon he was able to make his way through the practice exams without skipping a single question. 

A sudden movement out of the corner of his eye made his head fly up in surprise. This was it. This was when he was to be murdered, and cotton candy kid would be none the wiser, because he was always too busy belting out the lyrics to High School Musical, and--

Wait. Cotton candy kid wasn't there anymore. But… his stuff was. Oh, no. Had he been offed first!?

A tap on his shoulder made his hand slip and his lead snap against his paper. This time, his head moved much more slowly, eyes gradually widening as he turned to face whomever-- _ what _ ever--was requesting his attention.

Yet, what he ended up seeing was more surprising than he had expected.

“Baekhyun,” he whispered. Although it was probably much louder than intended, seeing as he had Ieuan blaring in his ears. He fumbled for the pause button on his phone before tearing the headphones out of his ears.

The other boy looked to be in as much disbelief as him. “I thought no one was here, what the fuck… I'm singing for like two hours then I get up to go to the bathroom and BOOM you're right there!? What in the hell--”

Sehun was still staring up at him, admiring the soft pink that was his hair, and how it was actually somehow flattering. “Your hair is making me hungry,” was the intelligent response that his brain decided to gift him. Granted, it was after 5:30 am, but seriously!? Brain.

Baekhyun actually laughed at that, a sound even sweeter than the cotton candy Sehun was currently visualizing in his mind. “Yeah, I've heard that a lot.”

Some weird sort of twinge was triggered in his stomach, and he vaguely identified it as--jealousy? More like protectiveness. Which he had no right to feel, but he didn't like the idea of people viewing Baekhyun as… tasty. People were gross.

_ You're one of such people. _

… 

_ Fuck off, brain. _

“Looks great, though.” 

Baekhyun smiled widely at that, the shade of his cheeks slowly shifting to imitate that of his hair. Then, he was pulling out a chair across from him, resting his chin on folded arms and gazing at Sehun with unabashed interest. 

“So, what brings you here? So late? Hmmm?” Whenever he blinked, it seemed to take a lot of effort to open his eyes back up again. Poor guy looked exhausted.

Sehun made a point of closing up his practice exam and setting all of his studying stuff to the side, hoping to appear just as invested in the conversation (he ignored the part where Baekhyun was almost falling asleep, because he knew it was due to exhaustion, not boredom). “I could ask you the same. I have my Ochem exam way before all my other ones, and like. I'm not? So good at it? So I have to put all my time and energy into it and I mean  _ all  _ of it. Like. Damn.” He glared at the packets to the left of him for a moment. “I think I'm finally getting the hang of it, though.”

Baekhyun yawned, barely covering it with the back of his hand. “You sound like you've been killing yourself just to pass and I'm here like… I just left my essay til the last minute and it's honestly all my fault I gotta stay up to finish it.” He snickered, at himself, but then buried his face deep into his arms. Groaning, his words came out all at once. “Uuuugh I'm so tired.” 

Sehun used the palm of his hand as a makeshift pillow. “Same, dude. How close are you to being done?”

“Oh, I'm sooo fucking done.” 

Sehun snorted, and this time, he was sure the only other student there had heard him. Yet, there was no judgment on his face. Just mutual amusement. And sleepiness. 

“Like… two more pages? And there has to be at least ten in total.”

“And it's due…?”

Baekhyun’s eyes popped back open, a pout prominent on his lips. “10 am.” He threw his head back, gaze directed at the ceiling as if it held the answer to all of his problems. “Can I just sleep? I almost don't even give a shit anymore.”

“‘Almost’.” Sehun pointed out, and Baekhyun lowered his head at such a restricted pace that Sehun was able to see each gradual change in emotion until it settled into ‘bloody murder’.

“Uh…” Sehun immediately regretted his decision, already all too aware that despite his frequent martial arts classes and sports games, he would be no match for an angry Baekhyun. “You wanna take a nap? I'll be your alarm clock."

Baekhyun’s face was now filled with gratitude, and was that… mischief? “Will you be my bed, too?” 

Sehun just stared, lips slightly parted in shock. Was he so sleep-deprived that he was imagining things, or?

Baekhyun was only embarrassed that he had to clarify. “It was a joke, you dork.”

“Oh, good, because I think I'd fall asleep too if that were the case.” 

The boy's brows twisted in confusion, but he made no move to ask for clarification.

“Just one hour… okay?”

Sehun’s gaze moved to the clock, and he made sure to take note of the time.

“Okay,” he affirmed, as he slid his sweater across the table. “You can use this, if you want.”

Baekhyun didn't even open his eyes; he just hummed in acknowledgment and pressed his face into the soft material. Sehun swore he heard him inhale before sighing just as gently, but again, he recalled how lacking he was when it came to rest.

He didn't get that much work done, because Baekhyun kept emitting the faintest little sleepy sounds, and he was barely keeping himself from making an ‘aww’ noise like he were watching kittens videos or something. 

That, and he was also wanting to sleep. And he felt as if he had gotten a good enough handle on the material that he could  _ allow  _ himself to sleep if he so wished. But for some reason, he valued the rest of a near stranger more than his own.

_ So stupid.  _ He chastised himself, but he didn't really care, to be quite honest. 

In any case, after nudging Baekhyun awake and receiving one of those half-aware smiles, Sehun no longer felt any obligation to staying awake and watching out for him. Through hazy eyes, he registered Baekhyun carrying his stuff over to the table they shared and resuming work on his essay, but soon such eyes were drifting shut. His mind warned him that doing so was not such a good idea, seeing as he had an exam soon, but he mumbled some sort of curses at his brain and discarded such thoughts.

When he came to, it was to Baekhyun’s palm hitting his face in the nicest, most tender possible way that one could manage when attempting to wake someone.

“Sorry,” he actually did look quite sorry for all but slapping him. “But after you fell asleep, I checked your practice exams to see if it had your actual exam time written on it and it's in half an hour…” 

Sehun checked the time through blurry eyes. 10:01 am. His test was at 10:30.

“Shit,” he murmured, dazedly wiping the sleep away from his face. He hit himself a few times for good measure, much to Baekhyun’s dismay. “Did you submit your essay?”

“ _ That’s  _ what you're worried about?” 

Sehun just deadpanned, awaiting an answer. 

“Yeah, yeah I finished it. But like. Isn't your building far away? Shouldn't you be… you know. Headed over there?”

A low groan. A long stretch of his arms, shirt sleeves slipping up past his shoulders, and Baekhyun couldn't help but notice how toned the guy was. 

“You play football or something?”

Sehun blinked stupidly at him, still coming to his senses. He hadn't even noticed him staring. 

“Uh, never mind. Good luck on your exam, Sehun.”

A grunt. His head slumped forward onto his open hand, his eyes falling shut as well.

“Damn it, Sehun.” Baekhyun shook him, nowhere near as gentle as before. “How many nights have you stayed up!?”

“Mm… three?”

Baekhyun grumbled under his breath. “Fucking idiot…” 

His voice rose a little louder. “Come on,” he grabbed onto Sehun’s arm. Wow, it really  _ was  _ tone-- “Let’s go.”

When Sehun rose to his feet, his hands immediately shot out to steady himself, barely catching hold of the edge of the table. He missed the terrified look Baekhyun sent his way, and also missed grabbing his bag for the first time. Baekhyun rolled his eyes, putting Sehun’s stuff away for him before handing the backpack over to him.

“Leggo.” Sehun muttered, and if it were under normal circumstances, Baekhyun would definitely have laughed at him for it. That, or reference the “leggo my eggo” commercial. He chose to ignore the fact that doing so would make him just as lame.

It was only at this point that he realized he hadn’t eaten for at least 9 hours. Still better than not having slept for 3 fucking days… 

He linked arms with Sehun, rolling his eyes for a second time when he had to do a complete 180 degree turn because the poor sleep-deprived boy was leading him in the completely incorrect direction. 

Sehun was not very conscious of the time it took to get from the library to his classroom. It wasn’t until a couple minutes after he was seated that he realized--he had no way of seeing Baekhyun again. No way could he go 2 fucking months again… 

His heart rate was spiking, and it wasn’t due to test-taking anxiety. His shaky hand flipped open his folder, hoping to get in some last minute review. Now, his heart began to thump even faster. Yet, this time, it was for a very good reason. On the very first paper in his folder, there were some words--and numbers--messily inked in the lightest of blues. 

_ Ace your test. Take a long ass nap (you stuuupid boy). Then text me.  _ It was completed with a very cute smiley face, which was immediately mirrored by Sehun’s own. 

Sehun shut his folder. He had gotten the burst of confidence he needed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure if I 100% proofread this, but I hope it's okey :) please leave a comment? c: thank you so much for reading. looooovelovelove. 


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